The Dave Sterner Quintet came together as a jazz ensemble in the spring of 2003. The group performs a wide range of musical styles, including the blues, swing, funk, and Latin jazz. A large part of the repertoire comes from the 1960’s soul jazz era when composers such as Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, and Freddie Hubbard dominated the scene. The group also performs songs by such contemporary composers as Joshua Redman, Bob Berg, and Michael Brecker and is composing its own original music and reinterpreting classic charts in a more modern style. The group consists of an alto and tenor saxophone on the front line, and a traditional piano, bass, and drum rhythm section. In addition to Dave on alto, the group features Chris Burge (Up Ensemble) on tenor sax, Roger Friedman on piano and Rhodes, Ray Porrello (Sammy Davis Jr., Count Basie Big Band) on drums, Kurt Felgelmaker on bass and special guest Beau Lisy (Up Ensemble) on percussion. The Quintet recently was awarded the Cleveland FREE TIMES 2007 "best jazz band" music award.
The Dave Sterner Quintet has performed as part of the TRI-C Jazzfest, The Madison Jazz Festival, The Lakeland Jazz Festival, The Ingenuity Festival, The Boston Mills Art Festival and the Cleveland Museum of Art Summer Concert Series. The group has also played at several establishments including The Cleveland Bop Stop, Legacy Village, Crocker Park, Nighttown, and The Cleveland Chop House.
Dave Sterner is a 1992 graduate of Indiana University’s Jazz Studies program, where he studied under renowned jazz educator David Baker. He is currently a part-time faculty member for the Cuyahoga Community College jazz program where he teaches advanced ear training and harmony, as well as, Lakeland Community College where he directs the Lakeland Civic Jazz Orchestra. He also participates annually in the Lakeland Summer Jazz Camp, the TRI-C “Summer with the Jazz Masters” camp and is a clinician and adjudicator for the Lakeland and TRI-C Jazz Festivals.
In 1993, Sterner joined Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Band. He is a featured soloist on both CD’s released on the Koch Label, as well as the CD, “Body & Soul” released on One Soul Records. As a member of the Fat Tuesday Big Band, Sterner has performed with such nationally-known jazz artist as David Sanborn, Phil Woods, Louis Bellson, and Terry Gibbs among others. As a free-lance musician, he has also performed with Harry Connick Jr., Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Tony Bennett, Wayne Newton, and a variety of national acts appearing in the Cleveland area. Dave has also performed with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band featuring Jon Faddis, Antonio Hart, and Slide Hampton.
Currently Dave lives in Willoughby, OH with his wife, Lisa, and their two children Brad and Libby.
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